All posts by Amanda N. Gunther

A full-time theatre reviewer in the Baltimore, Washington, and surrounding areas; Amanda holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Maryland Baltimore County as well as a minor in Creative Writing. Having spent two of her five years at college studying abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, she has learned a great deal about improv, devised work theatre, and interpretive movement pieces. Striving to promote theatre of all types, she can often be found in a theatre of some type, even on her nights off.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at The St. Gabriel Miracle Players

News May 15, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

In the end, there’s quite a prize if you can see with more than your eyes. And you’ll have to bring more than just your peepers along for the ride if you truly want to experience Charlie & The Chocolate Factory at St. Gabriel’s Miracle Players. You’ll need to bring your— IMAGINATION! Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, this newer musical theatre adaptation has more grizzly outcomes for the children as they traverse their way through Wonka’s chocolate factory and The Miracle Players are doing the best they can to bring you wonder,

Shakespeare Bites with Theatre Students of Brooklyn Park Middle School (Apex Arts)

To Play Or Not To Play: An Evening of Performance with Apex Arts

News May 15, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Shakespeare is a thief. Theatres are haunted. Live theatre is best served with comedy. This year’s spring showcase for the Theatre Students of Brooklyn Park Middle School (Apex Arts program) has a bubbly mixed-bag of topics presented in two parts— the sixth graders performing Live Theatre and the seventh and eighth graders performing Shakespeare Bites, both written by CJ Crowe, a teaching artist working with theatre students as a part of the Apex Arts program.

Salome at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews May 11, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Theatre is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.

If you’re feeling a little nostalgic checking in with that opening line then you’re on the right path.

How you doin’? Betcha you’ll be da bomb after you hit up the current production of Salome with The Rude Mechanicals at Greenbelt Arts Center. Conceptualized and directed by Wes Dennis, this Oscar Wilde…adaptation doesn’t seem like the right word here,

The Mouse That Roared at Salem Players

Reviews May 8, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Has your country gone broke? Are you about to have to go back to the ‘dark times’ where only one pomegranate per household per year? Are you on the verge of total extinction in your five-mile by three-mile country that NATO likely doesn’t recognize? Then have we got a solution for you! Why, declare war, of course! On the United States! Because there’s no conceivable universe— past, present, future, or otherwise— where you could win that war,

Hadestown (Teen Edition) at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews May 5, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

They will make you see how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is. They will sing you a song so beautiful that it brings the world back into tune. And where are you going? You’re going way down— Hadestown (Teen Edition) – way down under the ground. 21 young performers, one old, sad song— and they’re gonna tell it. They’re gonna tell it again. Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is living it up on top with their stellar and sensationally charged production of Hadestown (Teen Edition) and it will move your heart,

Livin’ It Up On Top: The Graduating Seniors of 2026 from Children’s Playhouse of Maryland Chat About Their Final Show- Hadestown

Interviews May 2, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Way down… Hadestown… way down under the ground. And it’s the show that has swept the nation, captivated the hearts of my generation and their generation and the graduating seniors (class of 2026) at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland could not be more enthusiastic and passionate about getting to perform in it as their final production with CPM. In the fourth annual “Graduating Seniors Interview” we’ve sat down with this year’s group— a total of five individuals,

Shakill Jamal (top) as Trinculo, with Vince Eisenson (center) as Caliban, and Matt Harris (below) as Stephano in Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's The Tempest 📷 Kiirstn Pagan Photography.

The Tempest at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews April 30, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a Duke o’er-thrown

That ended him and his daughter dear, on an island all alone.

Though not so alone as they thought they were— among spirits of earth and air

And then a conjured-magic sea-spun storm that brought their en’mies there.

The plot then thickens there, my friend, and there’s so much more to say

About the entities and denizens that populate this play

Magic.

Ann Morrison (left) as Kimberly and Marcus Phillips (right) as Seth in the National Tour of Kimberly Akimbo📷 Joan Marcus

Kimberly Akimbo at The Hippodrome Theatre

Reviews April 29, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s Saturday night— in Baltimore City— and there’s parties everywhere— but we’d rather be at Kimberly Akimbo! Which is in Baltimore City, at The Hippodrome Theatre, through Sunday evening, truth be told! And this is the ugly-cry-feel-good musical that you didn’t know you needed. Evocative and tender, filled with the mots profound emotional expression of laughter-through-tears, this stunningly realistic musical that highlights familial and life-living dysfunction without glorifying it or shying away from it is exactly what the world needs right now;

4am Friends at Endangered Species Theatre Project 📷 Michael Mason Studios

4a.m. Friends at ESP Theatre

Reviews April 24, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

We’ve all got our crew. Our people, our peeps, our “I need help moving a body”— Grey’s Anatomy defined it as “our person.” And several of us have a small army or contingency, but we’ve all got our ‘4a.m. friends’ as the tile of Endangered Species Theatre Projects’ newest work blatantly states. The takeaway from the play is that friends are important. The relationships that you cultivate over the years (and not all good friendships take decades to cultivate) are the ones that float you through life.

Arthur and Friends Make a Musical at MET Fun Company

Reviews April 24, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Hold onto your socks!! Because the MET Fun Company knows how to rock!! And they are ready to rock your socks right off with their adorably nostalgic production of Arthur and Friends Make a Musical. Based on the Arthur book series by Marc Brown, this quaint little kids show, which is wholly appropriate for both the youngins and those of us that grew up in the 90’s watching Arthur on PBS,

Jagged Little Pill at Scottfield Theatre Company

Reviews April 18, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

You’ve already won me over, in spite of me, and don’t be alarmed if I fall, head over feet. The album I played so many times in middle school I scratched the CD and had to ask for it for Christmas. Twice. ANd then it became a stage musical. And now it’s making its area debut at Scottfield Theatre Company in Havre de Grace. And isn’t it ironic– don’t you think? It’s a ferocious piece of theatre that is evocative and visceral and way too relevant for the world we live in;

Remember The Ladies at Hood College & Arts@FCC

News April 17, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

“I desire that you would remember the ladies…” ~Abigail Adams, March 31st 1776 in a letter to John.
And sure, Abigail Adams is easy enough— she’s one of just two female roles in 1776 the musical. But what about Sybil Ludington? The 16-yo female Paul Revere, and maybe she gets more of a notice because she had a male-counterpart to be compared to, but I bet most of you coming out to this wonderfully new devised piece called Remember The Ladies (written and directed by Suzanne Beal) won’t recognize most of the other names dropped into the piece,

Emily Koch (center) as Debra and the cast of the National Tour of Kimberly Akimbo 📷 Joan Marcus

A Great Adventure: Interviewing Emily Koch on Kimberly Akimbo

Interviews April 17, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Tie the fishline.

Open the mailbox.

Drop the glue trap.

And maybe you’ll pull back— a pair of tickets to see Kimberly Kimbo, currently touring the nation, and making a pit-stop in Baltimore later this month! In the meantime, we’re having a good-old-fashioned phone-interview (feels appropriate for a show set in the 1990’s, right?) with Emily Koch, playing Debra, and she’s got lots to say about just how excited she is to see you at the show!

Bus Buddies at Endangered Species Theatre Project

News April 14, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

You ever ridden a bus? Taken it just because it was there? Or maybe you’re one of those regulars who depends upon the bus route for your day-to-day operations? Maybe you get to know the people on the bus as a part of your community, they become like your family, and are woven into your story as much as your daily cup of coffee? That’s the notion or at least the essence that playwright Nancy Luse is aiming for with her new work Bus Buddies,

The Minutes at Keegan Theatre

Reviews April 14, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Just what kind of community do you want to live in? Ask yourself that the next time you think about running for town council or stepping up to attend a city hall meeting. It’s a valid question. What kind of community do you want to live in? It’s a surface level question that could have a surface level answer. It could also be a fathomless question with a bottomless answer that really gut-checks reality for you.

The Heidi Chronicles at Vagabond Players

Reviews April 11, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

You either shave your legs or you don’t. Radical, albeit limited, that approach to feminism circa the 70’s. And we’d like to think we’ve come so very far from that myopic viewpoint and the circumstances that forced it into existence in the first place. We’d like to think. And there’s plenty to think about— drink in, really— when you catch the penultimate production of the Vagabond Players 110th season— Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles.

We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On: An Interview with Christopher Marino on Playing Prospero at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Interviews April 10, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

O’ wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! And it takes just one goodly creature, in this case, an actor, to sit down with us and chat all about Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s upcoming production of The Tempest. In a TheatreBloom sit-down exclusive, we’re talking to Christopher Marino, currently playing Prospero in The Tempest, which opens on April 24th as the final show (on the indoor mainstage) of the 2025/2026 season.

The Crucible at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews April 6, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

We are here to discover what no one has ever seen.

And The Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s penultimate mainstage production of 2025/2026— Arthur Miller’s The Crucible— is unlike any Crucible you’ve ever seen before. It’s a disquietingly innovative hot-take on the production that universally presents it as an everyman tale, wholly investing the ensemble in the story’s narrative burden whilst simultaneously reflecting the harsh reality of the present-day world in which we live— but subtly,

Assassins at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Reviews April 6, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Free country: means your dreams can come true here. Right?

Not exactly an accurate reflection of the country in which we currently live. And if anyone tries to tell you that politics don’t belong in theatre and you believe them? I’ve got some oceanfront property in Nebraska to sell you. Once belonged to Abraham Lincoln too. It’s a fiery, unprecedented world in which we currently live and Laurel Mill Playhouse is stepping up to the plate with their current production of Stephen Sondeheim’s Assassins,

Megan Anderson (left) as Sonia, with Bruce Randolph Nelson (middle) as Vanya, and Beth Hylton (right) as Masha in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Everyman Theatre 📷 Teresa Castracane Photography

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Everyman Theatre

Reviews March 31, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

You must always get your hopes up— it’s wise but scary— though not in this case! If you’re getting your hopes up for a fantastic evening of theatrical entertainment, then you’re winning at life and Everyman Theatre is the place to be! They will delight you, they will tickle your funny bone, they will enchant you with their penultimate production of the 25/26 season (celebrating 35 years in Baltimore), and they will remind you that life is beautiful,

Rapunzel (A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fairytale) at Stand Up For…Theatre

News March 25, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

So you think you know Rapunzel, huh? Fairytale about the princess trapped in the tower with the really long hair and the prince and the witch? Betcha didn’t know she had two other village girls trapped up there with her. Or that the evil witch had a good twin. Sounds like Fractured Fairytles gone goofy, right? Sort of! And it’s got music! It’s Stand Up For…Theatre and their production of Rapunzel (A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fairytale) and while calling it ‘rock-n-roll’ may be a bit of a stretch,

The Prince of Egypt at Woods Memorial Presbyterian

Reviews March 21, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Who knows what miracles you can achieve when you believe? Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church and their annual theatrical production is in and of itself, a true miracle of theatrical excellence. And this year, they’re tackling the newly released DreamWorks musical, The Prince of Egypt. Directed & Musically Directed by David Merrill with Choreography by Elysia Merrill (and Matthew Walter serving as assistant to both offices) this stunning retelling of Moses’ story is an extraordinary example of theatrical excellence at its finest,

As You Like It at Folger Theater 📷 Brittany Diliberto

As You Like It at The Folger Theatre

Reviews March 16, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

From the court to the country— Arden is your stage! And your stage of Arden is currently being staged at The Folger Theatre. Oh, look— unicorn! As You Like It is sliding onto The Folger Theatre stage just in time for spring and it’s as refreshing and revitalizing as the much-needed warmer weather in the nation’s capital. Directed by the insanely talented Timothy Douglas, this production of one of Shakespeare’s more popular comedies— as envisioned by The Folger Theatre’s Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels— is effervescent in its existence,

Alex Vernon (left) and Sarah Olmsted Thomas (right) in Really Quite a Lot of Mechanisms 📷 Gwen Grastorf

Really Quite a Lot of Mechanisms with Alex and Olmsted at Baltimore Theatre Project

Reviews March 14, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

The Pulley. The Lever. The Wheel and Axle. And I promise it sounds much more lyrical and entertaining when being chant-call-and-responded by Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas in their latest Alex and Olmsted production, Really Quite a Lot of Mechanisms appearing now through March 29th 2026 at Baltimore Theatre Project. Devised by Alex and Olmsted (with lighting design by John McAfee and Board Op by Nicholas Boone) this whimsically wonderful explorative piece of puppet-forward theatrical engagement is a remarkable adventure that starts off with simple machines,

Fun Home at Silhouette Stages

Reviews March 13, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Caption: Live theatre production on stage for month of March.

No.

Caption: Emotionally evocative musical theatre show happening in heart of Columbia.

Or—

Caption: Fun Home making area community theatre debut with Silhouette Stages at Slayton House Theatre under direction of Stephen Foreman and musical direction of Dave Foley.

That’s the one.

This expressive and emotionally visceral musical (Lisa Kron- book &

A Year With Frog and Toad at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews March 9, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

When is soon? Well, sometime between now and later, of course! But you’d better not wait until later— because the time is NOW! To get your tickets to see the delightfully heartfelt production of A Year With Frog and Toad (TYA-edition) at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland. Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans, and Choreography by Lauren Stuart, this quaint and charming little musical details its namesake based on the illustrated children’s books by Arnold Lobel.

City of Angels at Colonial Players

Reviews March 6, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

People never see themselves as other people write them. And when you write them walking into a tangled web of film-noir meets golden-aged Hollywood with musical theatre camp and coziness all cuddled up together on the squarish stage of Colonial Players, well that’s one script you just have to see to believe. City of Angels— that rarely produced hybrid gem of show-inside-a-show like a nesting doll of page-to-screen-to-stage— is now playing as the penultimate production of the 77th season at Colonial Players of Annapolis.

A View From The Bridge at Greenbelt Arts Center

Reviews March 5, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

If you say something, you know it. If you don’t say something, you don’t know it. So many people keeping their sayings to themselves so that they— what? Get to remain unknown? Anonymous? Ignorant? Blood may be thicker than water but betrayal— that can cut deeper than any bond. Arthur Miller and his seemingly ageless drama A View From The Bridge is painting a bloody and brutal— and tragically still relevant— picture of the American condition.

Spring Awakening at Tidewater Players

Reviews February 28, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

What serves each of us best is what serves all of us best. Right? Radical idea, no? Tidewater Players is serving up a liberal dose of teenage angst and heartache with their current production of Spring Awakening (based on the play by Frank Wedekind with book & lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik.) Exploring the topics of growing up and simply yearning to learn outside of what’s being forcibly presented as knowledge within the confines and strictures of the institutions of schools and churches,

The First National Tour of Back to the Future: The Musical 📷 McLeod9 Creative

Back to the Future at The Hippodrome

Reviews February 25, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

Great Scott! 1.21 gigawatts!? Where are you going to get that kind of power in 2026!? At Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, of course! Back to the Future: The Musical is proof positive that you can achieve anything if you just put your mind to it! Based on the film by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale (book), Back to the Future (with music & lyrics by Alan Silvestri & Glen Ballard) is zooming at 88 miles per hour into Charm City— but for one week only!